Don Draper and the elusive Emmy

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Running the gantlet. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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The great escape. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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In force. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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The promised land. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Hooray for Hollywood? (David Horsey/Los Angeles Times)

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Director Martin Scorsese’s “Wolf of Wall Street” presents filthy greed and wretched excess in a way that seems to excite moviegoers. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Heading into the Super Bowl, big mouth Richard Sherman may be the most famous, or infamous, football player in America. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Two women in the news this week -- Katie Couric and Miley Cyrus. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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The A&E cable network may have laid an egg over its “Duck Dynasty” controversy. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Gunplay in PG-13 movies has tripled since 1985, a study shows. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Netflix has been making further strides into mainstream Hollywood, irritating TV networks and theater owners with talk about changing the rules of the movie and TV distribution game. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Now that Charlie Hunnam has dropped out, the race is on to find a male lead for “Fifty Shades of Grey.” (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Should there be a special line of undergarments to prevent awards show slip-ups? (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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The celebrated Kardashian glam-fam is in the news again, this time over a holiday card shot by celebrity photographer David LaChapelle. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is the host and star of his own reality show, blurring the lines separating politics, journalism and entertainment. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Neither right nor left, the CNN viewer is more interested in national disasters than national affairs. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Sandra Bullock could be experiencing the weightlessness of Oscar. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Horsey on Hollywood: Summer blockbusters (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Horsey on Hollywood: Comic-Con (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Movie moguls and their lawyers are fighting about who owns what parts of the movie rights to J.R.R. Tolkein’s timeless novels. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

By David Horsey

Sept. 18, 2013 7 AM PT

Don Draper — the irresistible, womanizing advertising executive with a haunting, secret past — is one of television’s most memorable, iconic characters. Yet Jon Hamm, the actor who has embodied Draper through six seasons of “Mad Men,” has failed to seduce one elusive woman: Her name is Emmy.

“Mad Men” has won four Emmy Awards for outstanding drama series. Hamm, the central force around which the rest of the show orbits, has been nominated six times for the acting honors but has never won.

This year, the buzz is that he is far from being a sure bet to take the golden statuette. That may seem crazy, but the competition is especially tough.

Hamm is facing three-time winner Bryan Cranston, the science teacher turned meth dealer in “Breaking Bad,” who has concocted a heck of a character of his own.

PHOTOS: Horsey on Hollywood

Hamm also faces Kevin Spacey, who masterfully portrays a deliciously venal Washington power player in the new Netflix series “House of Cards.” Damian Lewis of “Homeland” is also a nominee. He proved he is a heavyweight in this category by winning last year.

And there is Jeff Daniels from “The Newsroom,” perhaps not as strong a contender but still worthy of consideration for being able to deftly recite page after page of Aaron Sorkin’s intricate dialogue.

In Don Draper, Hamm has found a potent match for his looks and talent. He could easily have spent his career playing straight-arrow cops and other bland, square-jawed characters in suits and ties. Don Draper’s suits and ties barely contain an agonized soul with a carnal appetite that will not stop.

Just as James Gandolfini did with Tony Soprano, Hamm has found the role of a lifetime in Don Draper. Perhaps Emmy will finally give in and show him some love.

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